Wednesday, May 09, 2007

BOONVILLE ’07 – THE RECKONING

The 11th annual BOONVILLE BEER FESTIVAL last Saturday was nearly a carbon copy of the tenth, this time with the addition of some hot brewers (PIZZA PORT, LUCKY LABRADOR), good bands (DEL MARS, an oompah marching band, plus some mariachi band I missed whilst off drinking somewhere), and even more post-event hijinks and shenanigans. The weather was perfect – high 70s – the mood was right, and for four hours, taps flowed in the right direction: into my glass, and into those of my beer-loving brothers and sisters. Let’s discuss.

I made no effort this year to “rate” all the beers I encountered. All went into a small 5-oz. glass, which usually meant 4 oz. of beer once the head(s) died down. While the list below looks pretty daunting – and it’s more than I’d advise a typical human to consume in a given day – once you factor in sizes, rigorous water flushing, food intake etc. – it really wasn’t all that (right? right?). Special props go to MOONLIGHT – I briefly met the legendary Brian Hunt, and tasted a beer of theirs I’d yet to have – and to FIRESTONE WALKER, for bringing a cask-conditioned mini-barrel of their “10” barleywine blend all the way up from Paso Robles. Once word got out about that one, it was gone pretty quickly. Here’s what I gingerly sipped:

STUMPTOWN – Bushwhacker Wheat (a pour out! You hate to see that – but there’s gonna be one every year)

In short, the attendees were roundly calling it an “epic” day, as tiny kids were being swung around by drunken dads & moms, as tri-tip & sausages sizzled in the hot sun, as hideously sexist t-shirt messages were admired & applauded by all, and as my hubcaps were being stolen from my car outside the fairgrounds. I’d do it again, and I probably will.

The postscript on this one were the four 22-oz. bombers that were shared around a campsite later that evening: ROGUE's Chocolate Stout; ALESMITH's high-alcohol hop bomb Speedway Stout; AVERY's The Reverend; and OMMEGANG's Three Philosophers. All delicious (maybe not so much the Rogue) and deadly.